The Wild Card
by SeattleGirl359
Summary: AU No Zombies Bethyl. She was a rising star, America's newest sweetheart: a cute farm girl thrown into the spotlight, into the viciousness of the press and the paparazzi and all the judgment that came with the job. She sang and played the guitar, even wrote her own music. And he was a nobody, at least by his terms. Until a chance meeting happens and their worlds collide. Daryl/Beth
1. Chapter 1

She was a rising star, America's newest sweetheart: a cute farm girl thrown into the spotlight, into the viciousness of the press and the paparazzi and all the judgment that came with the job. She sang and played the guitar, even wrote her own music and settled for nothing less of that, which was rare nowadays. He admitted it was impressive, but wouldn't say that out loud to anyone. He saw her on the cover of a couple magazines when in line at the grocery store a few times but didn't pay more than a few second long glance to the photo.

He didn't have the time to be staring at pretty girls on covers of magazines when he had real life shit to take care of.

Truth be told, life was pretty damn boring for Daryl, and he actually liked it that way. A calmer life was a better one to him, no trouble, or at least that was what he thought.

Life was normal for him.

And then something unpredictable happened one night, something Daryl never would have expected. It was actually something that changed his life entirely, but that was something he would not know until it had already happened and it was months later. But that one night, one simple night that was like any other up until one point, changed his life, changed him, changed everything.

And it was all because of one person.

There was next to no one in the diner that he was in, the way Daryl preferred it to be that Friday night. It was not that he didn't like people, it was just that crowds of them made him feel uncomfortable, always had, like he was suffocating and didn't know how to make it stop. He preferred the quiet, the ability to listen to no one else except what was in his own head. But then again, sometimes being in his own head was not the best place to be.

Daryl had been in the diner for a while minding his own business. He wasn't one to look around and check out the scenery, but that time, for some reason, he looked up and noticed a girl twirling in her seat at the counter, clearly enjoying herself, and he guessed she was the one who had walked in a few minutes ago when the bell on the door rang to alert that there was a customer.

Normally, he would have glanced away by that point. But the thing that caught his eye was that she was wearing an elegant turquoise-looking dress that went to the floor, with some white beading, which Daryl found to be odd since it was the beginning of January and it was too cold for anyone to wear something like that, no matter how nice it looked. Another thing he noticed was that her white heels rested on the floor, uncared for and unappreciated. Daryl never understood how anyone could walk in those things. They looked scary enough. And it seemed really painful to begin with and no woman seemed to be able to walk in them properly when they were that high of heel anyways, so why bother?

He caught himself being sidetracked by the heels. It happened often. Daryl's mind liked to wander about.

He had gotten so lost in thought that he hadn't realized that the young woman in the turquoise dress had stopped twirling in the chair and was staring back at him from across the diner. It jolted Daryl. He knew he shouldn't have been looking at her in the first place. He quickly turned his head so he could completely avert his eyes away. He felt awkward after that, having been caught and currently sitting in shame as he waited for his order to get to the table so he could eat and get the hell out of that place.

He was in one of those diner booths, the classic diner seating, so Daryl opted to stare out the window and into the Atlanta street filled with a number of passing yellow taxis and other various cars. Atlanta was busy this time of night and normally he wouldn't have ventured out but Daryl felt like he needed to get some air after a verbal fight with his dumbass brother.

It wasn't until his food was delivered and in front of him that he unconsciously glanced over at the blonde girl again, almost cursing at himself for daring to steal another look. Luckily for him, she was talking to one of the waitresses and paid no attention to Daryl's lack of ability to keep his eyes were they should be.

He was actually wasn't that hungry once the food was in front of him, ready for the taking. It had lost the appeal. Daryl picked around, reminding of himself of how his mother had always said not play with the meal he had been given.

He sighed, not wanting to remember anything about his childhood, but then noticed some movement out of the corner of his eyes after taking a bite of the burger. He was almost afraid to move his gaze, but he did anyways. The blonde was making her way over to him at a quick pace, forcing Daryl to wipe his mouth on his sleeve before she made it all the way over to him.

"Hello," said the woman, directly in front of his table, her dress swaying as she stopped to greet him. She still was not wearing any shoes, the heels carelessly dangling at her side, and Daryl almost laughed about it. He liked that.

Daryl stared at her for a moment, wondering if he was hallucinating that she was talking to him. Two blinks and then he replied with the ever intelligent, "Um, hi."

She stayed in her place for a moment, teetering back and forth on the heels of her feet before planting them firmly onto the ground. "Can I sit down?"

Daryl was taken aback by the request. His brain searched for some words but ended up with nothing so he decided to motion to the seat across from him instead of sitting there like an idiot staring at the woman.

"Thanks," she smiled sweetly, and took up the place across from him. "I'm Beth, by the way."

She seemed somewhat familiar to him but he ignored the sense, telling himself that he was crazy. He knew there was no way he would have meet this girl and then forgotten her. He would have remembered a face like Beth's.

"Daryl," he mumbled in reply. He scratched the back of his head momentarily, glancing around the place to make sure that she was not playing a joke on him or something like that. "So, do you need somethin'?"

She shook her head, placing her solid white heels onto the seat cushion next to her. "No. I don't really need anything other than some company. Is that okay with you? I've had a long night of talking to people I don't really like."

He nodded to agree. Even though he was slightly nervous, he didn't feel uncomfortable, which was a shock to him. Strangers always made him feel uncomfortable. But not this one. No, this girl he felt moderately okay around.

Needless to say, Daryl was intrigued. And that was something that rarely happened.

They sat there in silence for a minute, which seemed like an hour to him. Daryl watched as Beth gazed out the window, seemingly looking for someone. It got him a little bit worried, and it caused him to stupidly not think before he spoke. "Boyfriend out there lookin' for ya or somethin'?"

He regretted asking that question the second the words came out. First off all, it was none of his business. And also, he knew he shouldn't seem so interested in her love life. The last thing he needed was her thinking that he was hitting onto her. That would surely be a disaster.

To his surprise though, Beth turned her attention back to him and softly giggled. "No. There actually is no boyfriend. My life is too busy right now for a relationship, or at least that's what I tell people so I don't seem too weird."

He was surprised again. A girl like her and Daryl would have thought that there would be multiple marriage proposals lined up by now, guys willing to do whatever it took to win her heart. Only then did he really look at her. Soft and trusting blue eyes that were fitted with some black mascara and eyeliner, a bright smile, porcelain skin, and blonde hair that was curled and put up into a neat ponytail. She was a knockout, ten out of ten. That was when Daryl felt out of place sitting across from her, like he didn't belong.

Daryl shifted around a bit and took another bite of his dinner, seeing it as an excuse to not have to talk. The waitress came over and placed Beth's food in front of her that she had ordered earlier over at the counter. Daryl's chewing came to a slow when he saw the quantity of it all. A chocolate milkshake, five blueberry pancakes with whipped cream, toast, and two side orders of fries. He stared in awe as she dug into the food right away. He didn't think all that food could fit into such a tiny body.

Beth noticed eventually, smiling and wiping her mouth with her napkin. "What? Is there food on my face?"

"No," Daryl said stupidly, jerking himself out of the stare he had been in. The smart thing would have been to have used that as an excuse as to why he had been staring so blatantly at her, but it was too late and Daryl had already refused that as an answer. The thought fast and chose to change the subject. "It's nothin'. Hey, how come you wearin' that dress? This ain't no fancy place."

That was good—an easy way to divert the conversation away from how Daryl's eyes had been on Beth for too long. Much too long.

She shrugged nonchalantly and took another french fry from her plate, popping it into her mouth. "I was at this lame event where I had to smile too much and stand in heels all evening. It was boring and all they would give me was a plain garden salad." Beth threw her hands out to dramatically show off her plates of food. "Hence why I'm here."

"The food ain't that great," Daryl pointed out, acquiring a glare from the waitress who glided past them quickly. Whatever, she probably knew it was true too.

Beth smiled and then stole a fry off of his own plate, as if she didn't have enough of her own already. "It's good enough to me. I've barely eaten all day. Oh the perks of being forced into a fancy dress at night…means nothing but water and a piece of fruit until I sit down for dinner with the oh-so-exciting garden salad. It's bullshit, by the way. I'm not a fan of being starved to fit in some dumb dress."

Daryl doubted she ever had any trouble fitting into anything. She was practically a model with her slim figure. He was even about to compliment her on the dress too, but bit his tongue. That would be going too far.

Beth grabbed the small container of raspberry jelly that came with her plate, pushing the less favorable ones away with a frown, and smeared it onto her toast before taking a bite, mentioning how she only ever ate the raspberry kind. He found it interesting because Daryl only liked raspberry jelly too.

Weird coincidence.

"You know, I think this is the first time today that I can actually hear myself think." Beth made a gesture towards her head, half-eaten toast still in hand. "People have been talkin' at me all day, making decisions for me. There is a ringing in my ear. No lie."

"Sounds intense," Daryl remarked.

Beth set down her elbow onto the table and rested her head onto it. "I'm exhausted, running on empty over here. Excuse me as I stuff my face with food. I know it's not very lady-like. I'm sure I look like a mess."

He smiled to himself, picking his burger up again. He shrugged a shoulder and mentioned, "It ain't like you gotta impress anyone around here. Feel free to stuff your face all you want."

Beth returned a smile, then it faded as her eyes trailed over to the window. "Uh oh," Beth suddenly gasped, and then swiftly slid under the table, gone from his sight.

He wasn't sure what was going on at first. And yes, he noticed the curious and alarmed eyes of the waitress who had followed the motions of Beth throwing herself underneath the table, probably thinking that Beth was going to be doing something not very innocent to him from underneath. Daryl's cheeks went red as he looked away, embarrassed, and hoping Beth would return to her spot.

"Is she still there?" asked Beth's voice from below.

He looked around, not knowing who she was referring to. "Who?"

"The woman outside. Brown hair, tall, and in a red dress," she explained hastily. "Is she coming this way?"

Daryl peered out the window and saw the description of the person Beth had described walking in the opposite direction. "She's going away now."

A sigh of relief came from Beth and she climbed back to her spot, thankfully. "That was my sister," she explained, rolling her eyes. "She's been lookin' for me ever since I left the event early. She's probably pissed she can't find me."

"Left early?" he questioned, instantly aware of how his own curiosity was controlling him. Daryl usually never asked questions.

Beth poured some maple syrup onto her pancakes, drenching them in sugar. "More like ran away," she lightly laughed. "I'm having a much better time here now though, so I'm glad that I did."

She looked up at him for a brief second and flashed a smile before she returned to eating. It settled in with him. A part of him thought that maybe she had flirted with him, but Daryl passed it off as him being overly analyzing things.

Beth shoveled in a few more bites and downed half of her milkshake. "I have to go now before it gets too late," she declared regretfully, looked around, and then closed her eyes with a deep sigh. "Damn. Maggie had my purse with my cash."

"Don't worry about it," he brushed it off. "I got it."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Dinner's on me."

Beth smiled genuinely and it made Daryl feel good. "That's really nice of you. Thanks," Beth whispered. She got out of the booth and took two steps away and then spun back around. "And thank you for everything else."

He was confused. "Everything else?"

"For treating me like a normal person," she whispered, blue eyes seeming to twinkle at him. "I don't get that very often anymore. So thank you, Daryl. I appreciated the break from everything. Believe me, I needed it."

He didn't know what she meant by it, but in that moment he didn't pay much attention to her words. He watched her leave as she turned around on her heels, ponytail bouncing as she walked across the diner and opened the door, the bell above ringing as she stepped out into the cold night. He stood there kind of stunned for a few more moments, unaware of anything else as he watched as the blonde hair sway in the wind crossing the street and back to the hotel across the way.

_**A/N: Alright, folks, let me know what you think. I quite like this idea for a story but I'm wondering if you do to! See you soon!**_


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later he was minding his own business like usual when his brother came stomping through the apartment from the front door and threw a magazine at him. It slapped down onto the table and the wind from the force made the hairs on his head blow back somewhat. Daryl barely flinched, yet he still found the energy to glare up at Merle with annoyance from the nonverbal outburst. It was not out of the ordinary for Merle to be an asshole, so Daryl was used to this sort of thing. He even mustered up the ability to ask, "The fuck was that for?"

Now, he didn't exactly care why Merle was in a mood and threw random a magazine at him, he just thought it might be useful question to ask, for future reference. Just in case Daryl's sitting there peacefully had disturbed Merle in any way and that was what forced him to throw paper at his younger brother, then Daryl could change his actions to best suit Merle.

Okay, he got a little sarcastic at times, especially in his own head. That was a part of who Daryl was. Ain't nothing gonna change that.

Merle motioned at him. "Take a look for yourself."

So he did. Painstakingly slow, if he might add, because he wasn't about to quickly view the magazine, which Daryl would easily refer to as an atrocity, in front on him with just to please Merle who stared down at him with his arms folded over each other, waiting impatiently like a selfish child who needed to get his way.

They instigated each other on, really, and it was no good. Yet, then again, neither did nothing to change that. They were trapped in that cycle, even in their adult age.

Daryl picked up the trashy magazine and let his eyes focus in on the photo on the front. Only when he realized exactly what it was did he feel like he wanted to hide in corner somewhere, away from everyone else, mostly away from his brother's judging and cruel eyes that seemed like they were going to burn a hole right into his fucking face.

Wouldn't be the first time he saw that look that Merle sported, and wouldn't be the last.

But the annoyance of that faded quickly. And he meant _quickly._

It was him on the cover, him and Beth. It was clear as day, even looked like one of those extremely expensive cameras took the snapshot of them. The photo depicted the pair that were seated at the diner together, the words _A New Man for Beth Greene?_ sprawled out across the page in bold ink. _Has Our Favorite Popstar Found Love?_

_Shit. _

All sides of his stomach clenched together because he knew right then that he was just fucked. There was no real explaining that away. There was physical evidence in his hands of that night and Daryl didn't know what to do, he only continued to stare at the color photo that clearly showed him and a smiling Beth in a booth with maroon colored seating.

That was when he realized why she had looked so familiar the night before. It was because he had seen her face on a couple magazines before in various places and her name had been spoken by passing school girls when Daryl sat in his truck at a red light. Beth Greene, the singer and songwriter who had captured the nation's attention, and apparently Daryl's as well. How had he not realized it before?

He suddenly felt like he might be ill.

He inhaled deeply to pass the feeling of sickness away, solely due to embarrassment, and tossed the magazine with him and Beth on it face down onto the wooden and coffee stained kitchen table, hoping that maybe the image would go away along with his brother's aggravation over it. Or perhaps the constant teasing he knew was coming his way would cease to exist.

Daryl really hoped there would be no taunting over this whole mix up, yet knew that he would probably never be able to live it down, not on Merle's terms anyhow. Merle never really knew when to stop, how to quit, a trait of his that Daryl found to be particularly annoying and not useful in society. Merle was always the asshole brother, and according to Merle, Daryl was the sweet one.

Yeah, there ain't nothing sweet about Daryl, at least by his standards.

"It's nothin'," he tried to play it off as, taking a sip of coffee before any more words spilled out of his mouth, possibly incriminating ones that his brother would use against him. "Nothin'."

Honestly, who was he trying to convince, his brother or himself?

Merle looked like he wanted to puke and laugh at the same time, his signature smirk curling in along his lips. "Nothin'? Don't look like it's nothin', baby brother." He picked up the tabloid again and flipped it back over, almost spilling the contents of a mug next to his hand, and then pointed to Daryl's image, tapping twice. "This right here looks mighty interestin' if ya ask me."

"No one asked you," he sneered back, getting up from the table to dump the dishes into the sink and to refill the coffee in his mug. Daryl carefully planned an escape route in his head to get out of there and get to work early. He really was not in the mood to hear what else his brother had to say about this photo he had brought into Daryl's place. "I gotta get going." He dropped his head and made his way across the wooden floor, not bothering to look back. "I'll see you later."

He wished that last part wasn't true.

"You sure 'bout that?" Merle called after him as Daryl was able to get to the door. "Or you gonna be too busy with your…_woman_?"

Daryl's teeth clenched together. The both of them new full well that Beth Greene was not Daryl's _woman_. "I met her at a diner, okay?" he nearly shouted, giving in and showing the annoyance, the extreme frustration with the confrontation. It was exactly what Merle wanted and Daryl had given it straight to him. Merle had pushed him far enough and he pushed back. "It's nothin'. I'll never see her again so let's drop it."

He slammed the door after that, shutting his brother back inside the apartment that belonged to Daryl, yet Merle seemed to like to think was also his. He stayed over too much, in Daryl's opinion at least, yet he lacked the nerve to tell Merle to get the fuck out when he wanted him to leave. They were both adults and in Daryl's mind that meant they could each have their own place. But actually half of the time Daryl didn't even know where Merle went when he wasn't with him.

Hell, he didn't want to know.

Walking angrily down the street as he tried to forget what had happened, Daryl passed the town's record store and it made his mind drift back to the young blonde, so much so that he almost bumped into several people and their expensive coffee that had that weird syrup shit in it and a fancy name. People paid way too much for coffee, in Daryl's opinion. There was no need for coffee too be anything over five dollars if there was no gold or silver infused into it. But again, apparently that was an unpopular opinion among the masses.

Daryl wondered if Beth ever bought the expensive, richy-rich coffee, not that it mattered much to him, it was just that a lot of his thoughts began to warp around that girl he met for a brief time. She somehow had managed to work her way into his brain and comfortably take up a residence within his mind.

Damn.

Lucky him.

The whole way to the place he had been working at for the past three months consisted of Daryl's brain being consumed by the blonde who he knew he would never see in person again. There was no way. He would just be the guy who bought her a meal at a diner one time. Easily forgettable.

Because that was what Daryl was—forgettable.

He was harsh on himself and he knew that, but Daryl also knew better than to think that out of all the people in the world he would stand out in Beth's mind. It was a ridiculous notion and he paid no attention to the otherworldly idea.

Well…he _tried_ to pay no attention to it. Still crept into his mind every now and then.

Or every hour. But that was his problem, not hers.

Before he got to work, Daryl stepped into a library, one most frequently used by college students, for what was probably the first time ever since elementary school. He felt like he didn't belong in there, like he felt at most places. But he had a mission that time, so the feeling did not bother him that much and he ignored any sideways glances from librarians. The awkward feeling, however, did stuck around until he sat down at a computer, looking around to see if anyone was watching him as he typed in the letters very slowly before hitting the search button, wanting to be quick about it.

That was right, he looked her up online. An idiot move, he was well aware of that. But he had to, honestly. It was purely research based, at least that was what he told himself to justify how creepy he was being with the whole internet stalking.

But really, was he ashamed of it? Not exactly. Daryl was just curious about her, that was all.

Pages upon pages came up, image after image. It was a bit overwhelming to begin with because there was so many places he could start at. He tried to avoid those nice looking photos of her because he knew better than that and didn't need any more of her, admittedly, beautiful face floating around in his head. Instead, he went for the articles and scanned through just enough to realize that this girl was bigger than he thought, selling out shows within minutes and acquiring status within the top ten songs on radio stations. Everyone loved her. Daryl didn't read on single bad thing about her.

He could see why it was that way, why everyone was raving about her. In the time he had spent with Beth, Daryl found her to be very easy-going and genuinely nice to be around. That was something Daryl found hard to come by. He usually disliked most people with their fake 'hello' and 'how are you?'. No one really meant it and no one really wanted to know the answer to their repetitive question.

Except that was when Daryl thought Beth was one of those people, the small percentage, that actually cared and meant what she said entirely. He could see that being true for her and it almost made him smile to himself before he caught the edges of his mouth turning up and quickly made it fall back into the normal frown.

It took him a minute to figure out what to do when his photo appeared in an article, one that asked a similar question to the magazine—_Is LOVE in the Air for Beth Greene_? And then another popped up—_Who is Beth's New Fellow_?

Daryl rubbed his chin and then exited out of the browser.

He should move on with his life.

He probably won't, but it was a nice idea in theory.

—

She bounced through the hallway as her signature cowboy boots clicked on the floor, not so skillfully avoiding the traffic of people with important papers and electronic equipment. Beth was quite ecstatic, the reason being she had a whole hour to herself and was not about to waste it by walking slowly to her destination. "Excuse me!" she cringed, narrowly escaping a collision with another busy person with coffee that had double shots of espresso in her hand. "Sorry! Coming through here."

Beth finally made her way through the crowd of people walking the opposite way in the tight hallway, and slammed open the back door, quickly on her way to freedom from the building that she had been kept in all morning rehearsing some songs in a studio. She pulled her jacket hood up and threw on some oversized black sunglasses, hoping that it would be enough to make her blend into the crowd there in Atlanta. Being spotted was always a concern for her, so she had gotten fairly good at disguising herself a certain way so that she would be undetectable.

She wandered in and out of a few shops but found nothing she really liked. Beth was more of a window shopper anyways. She got more enjoyment out of her time when she refused to step into stores.

However, there was always one she would, without a doubt go visit, no matter where she was. It was almost taboo to her not to go into a record store when she came across one. It could never be intentional, just had to happen by chance, and only then would Beth venture in to check out the music offered.

So when she saw a record store on the corner of Hollow Avenue, she quickly ducked in, going unseen by people passing by—her successful attempt at walking ten blocks without being spotted by anyone with a camera on their phone who would surely post her whereabouts. That was the one thing she hated about the job, the lack of privacy and the constant heightened senses she acquired by being on the lookout for those who might spot her and ruin her cover.

Beth quickly evaded the cashier, who was too busy looking at a magazine to care for her entrance to the shop. She quietly went through a few rows of albums, gazing at the covers of them.

She did that often, well, as often as she could. Beth loved to sneak out away from her team of people and go to a record store in every city she had been in. So far she had collected albums from Knoxville, Philadelphia, Seattle, Dallas, and Cincinnati. Now she was back in her home state for a while, but still wanted an album from Atlanta.

She even saw her newly released album, Expired Love, on the shelf, front and center in its own little section. She smiled to herself, feeling accomplished. She still could not believe that it all had happened, that she was going around city to city doing signings after just finishing up her first tour. It was a whirlwind, and honestly sometimes Beth had a hard time keeping up with her new, busy life.

She managed though. She had her sister with her the whole time, which was great and all, but there were a number of arguments that had gone down, ones Beth would not particularly like to revisit. Things were said and neither of the two were proud of those moments when they lost their cool. They were sisters, nonetheless, and they made up eventually.

After some searching, she found her favorite album from The Runaways and quickly snagged it. Believe it or not, Beth really liked music that was from before her time. She was inspired by the creativity and how different it was from today's music. If she had it her way, she would sit in a room for hours and play the music. However, Beth did not get a lot of alone time, not anymore. Basically the only time she was alone was when she went on her outings and told not a soul about them.

Her sister would worry and try to find her once she noticed, and Beth would receive dozens of texts, but she would take her own time getting back.

She thought about the other night, the time she had in the diner, another one of escapes so she could get away and breathe for a moment after being photographed again and again at the award show she had to attend. That man she had met, Daryl, had made her feel so normal again, like she could be herself and not be judged a single ounce in his presence. Something about him made her feel safe and happy, and she really regretted not getting his number while she had been there.

Although she assumed he was much older than her nineteen year old self, Beth saw something in Daryl. She wanted to know more about him, yet had no way of getting in contact with him. She supposed she could go back to that diner and ask if he paid with a credit card to get his full name, but doubted he even owned a credit card. Daryl seemed more like the kind to pay exclusively with cash just to avoid unnecessary bank transactions.

Still, he remained in the back of her mind. Perhaps she would be lucky enough to run into him again one day. After all, they were currently in the same city. It could happen. For all she knew, he could be right around the corner from her and she would never know about it.

And little did she know, he actually was.

_**A/N: I am so excited that everyone seemed to have really enjoyed the plot of this story! It's something I've wanted to write for a while now. Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed! I didn't have the time to personally thank everyone for leaving me feedback, but know I absolutely appreciate all the encouragement! **_


	3. Chapter 3

It was after work on a Friday night when things all catch up to him.

Should have expected it sooner or later.

Daryl was trying to relax at this old bar, one of the nicer ones in town, not as sketchy as the rest, although he would admit that having a beer or two never actually relaxed him. Not even a little bit, though it never stopped him from trying to make it happen. The only thing that did it for him was being out in the woods in his natural habitat with the pine trees, dirt, and the quiet sound of nature. Sounded corny, he was well aware of that, but it was what he felt. It was like he was part animal, always had been.

He heard the music playing behind the scenes for a few minutes but paid no real attention to it. He figured one of those house bands were going on stage to play soon, which meant he should get the hell out of there before a lame band with only a half decent singer got on stage.

But Daryl was in for a real surprise.

Soon enough though, a flood of college-aged and younger females swamped the place within five whole fucking minutes and Daryl found himself trapped by the sea of too much makeup and cheetah handbags. He had watched the whole thing go down too. Saw how girl after girl had opened up the large door in the front with a thrilled expression. And sometimes they even came in packs, which freaked Daryl out the most. Groups of girls poured in a surrounded the place, barely leaving enough room to breathe.

Uncomfortable.

That was the only word that described how he felt.

The sudden and unexpected rush of people into the bar left Daryl in a confused state. The only thing he could think of was that a boy band must be playing soon and all these girls showed up to profess their undying love for the guitarist or the lead singer. What a load of bullshit. His peaceful time to himself had come to an abrupt end.

With an annoyed sigh, Daryl took out his wallet and slapped down the money for his beer, about to get out of the hell-hole he found himself in. He stopped though. A sweeping view of blonde hair to his left made Daryl turn his head in a knee-jerk like reaction that made him fall still, even his breathing hitched in his throat.

Beth.

It was actually her.

She looked different now in more casual clothes and not the dress she was in the first time they met. The white woven sweater that was slightly too big on her looked nice against her skin tone and the rosy cheeks complimented the color. Dark skinny jeans and cowboy boots with black legwarmers made her look like more like the average everyday girl, one who wasn't a superstar across the nation. But that was thing, she _was_ a superstar. Beth Greene was not ordinary, and Daryl doubted she ever was. Beth was something special. He didn't need a microscope to figure that out.

"Hi," she sweetly greeted to the loyal fans who were in the crowd. Various screams of her name followed by the excited girls that were packed into the room, all surrounding the stage and jumping up and down. "Hello!" she greeted again, surprised by the eruption of chatter among the females.

Her voice was so calm, so sweet, and just as he remembered.

Yeah, he definitely needed to get out of there…

No movement.

That was right, he stayed put, as if gravity was pushing down on him too hard and forcing him to stay in his place at the bar stool on the farther end. Daryl probably had the best view too, not that it mattered. He watched as Beth sat down on a wooden stool in the center of the stage, picked up her guitar and placed the strap over her shoulder, choosing to run a purple guitar pick down the strings one time and then looked up and smile at the crowd.

Their eyes met then.

It jolted Daryl, then made him freeze in his place again, but also made him swallow hard when his heart pounded against his chest in a way it never had before.

Shit, he should have left when he had the chance to. But also, he was entirely glad that he had stayed.

After more staring for longer than necessary, on both parts, Beth smiled, and dropped her gaze to the ground, pressing her glossy lips together in a way that made Daryl want to squirm around in his seat. "I'm glad everyone could made it here," she quietly said into the microphone, glancing around at the crowd. Daryl was surprised that not one of them had a phone out to record. "I know it's very last minute but I wanted to do a special little something for those of you who know me so well. So this first song," Beth introduced in a smooth voice, adjusting herself in the chair and preparing her hand placements on the guitar, "is for someone very special that I met about a week ago." She cleared her throat and moved closer to the microphone, glancing in Daryl's direction. "You know who you are."

Daryl wanted to crawl into a dark corner as the girls around him squealed in more excitement from the statement, turning to the others next to them to whisper quietly and theorize about who it was Beth had referred to. Daryl didn't dare move an inch, fearing he would draw unwanted attention to himself and be spotted. After all, his photo was in online and print articles so he figured one of the fans was guaranteed to have seen it and recognize him. The last thing he needed was another photo snapped of him around Beth. Merle would just have a fucking field day with that.

But he forgot all about that once Beth's fingers started to move expertly against the strings of the guitar she had, squeals from the crowd erupting all at once and then quieted down so they could hear. Daryl had always liked the sound of a guitar but there was something fresh and invigorating about the way Beth played. It was effortless to her, and Daryl thought she could probably play the instrument in her sleep.

His thoughts came to a stop when Beth opened her mouth and lyrics came out, angelic voice singing through a song, capturing his attention entirely. He could have sworn that those in the crowd were all holding their breath to hear every last note played. He didn't blame them, especially when he realized that his own breathing had slowed down. He was in a trance watching her and it freaked him out a little bit. He never got this way, not with women at least. And certainly not with one he knew he could never have.

Mid-song, he turned back and stared down at the cash on the bar and the drink that was too his right. He wasn't going to finish it. He should leave.

Daryl's eye travelled back over to Beth before he had the chance to stop them. She finished the song that had been dedicated to Daryl and the sea of girls cheered her on as she thanked them. He understood some of the lyrics, maybe even heard them on the radio a few times while switching the stations back and forth. It was something about lovers meeting in the summer, a romantic song that involved only her voice and the guitar. Pretty, he thought. No, more like beautiful. She could sing anything in the world and it would stop traffic.

_Get out of there._

It sounded like Merle's voice mixed with his own. Deciphering the owner of the voice was often hard, but the message was usually always clear.

He ignored it though, not seeing the harm in sticking around just a little longer. Then he would leave. Never look back. Right, that was what he would do.

Until he didn't and four songs later Beth was done and signing autographs for fans. She met his eyes again and only then did he know that he had somehow stayed the entire time and had been analyzing her every move. _Fuck_. What was wrong with him?

The ones old enough to drink hung out and compared pictures they got with Beth. The rest went home for the night as Beth packed up her things. He was still lingering about when she approached him with her instrument. "I'm so glad that you're still here. I was worried you might go."

Daryl bit at his lip. "Uh, yeah. I'm here. Still."

Jeez, that sounded intelligent of him.

Beth laughed and then pushed her lips against each other in a way that was just so familiar to him. Yeah, he knew he had started at her lips too much. "I've actually been hoping to run into you again," she commented. He could hardly believe his ears. Part of him thought she was just saying that to be nice, but she continued. "Funny coincidence isn't it? You being here and me showing up for a gig I just planned a few hours earlier."

She was too adorable with her wide smile and hopeful, naïve eyes that seemed to look right through him and into his soul—if he had one. She knew nothing about who Daryl was, yet showed such an interest in him. Strange, it really was. There was nothing about himself that Daryl believed to be remotely interesting so he was confused as to why she seemed so eager to talk to him.

But he'd be lying if he said he wasn't still intrigued.

"What are the odds?" Daryl answered back, still wondering the same thing, as he had been since he saw her there.

Beth twisted around and claimed the bar stool next to him, and although anyone under the age of twenty one was not actually allowed to sit there, he guessed that no one was going to say anything to her. Beth Greene could sit anywhere she liked to and no one would dare utter a sentence about it. After all, she would be bringing in some business after it got out that she had played at the bar. Fans would flock to see the place.

"Looks like fate is in my favor," she sighed contently, then carefully rested her guitar against the wood part of the bar that was scuffed up with shoe marks.

Daryl wondered what she meant by that comment briefly and then moved on, not reading too much into it. He glanced over at a few girls in the corner who were smiling at their cameras, reviewing photos of them and Beth that they would send out to social media soon. "How did they know to come here?" he asked curiously.

"I sent out a tweet with some clues which ended up being secret directions to get here. Kind of like a riddle," she explained, playing with the strings on her guitar. She gave him a questionable look. "You do know what twitter is, right?"

"Unfortunately," he muttered.

Beth laughed. "I can see why you would say that." The owner of the bar came over and handed her the guitar case, which she thanked him for, only to have him thank her for choosing his place to hold a gig at. Beth turned back to Daryl once he was gone. "I figured the people…the fans…the ones who knew me best would figure out the cryptic message and find their way here for a private, unscheduled concert of their own. I like the smaller settings. It makes me feel like I can make a connection with the people in the crowd."

She was a better person than he originally thought. Of course, he had seen the articles about her volunteering at animal shelters and feeding the homeless at Christmas, but knowing that she snuck away from security, producers, her sister, and everyone else just to give back to the hardcore fans with a free show and meet and greet, that was something else. She wasn't one of those stuck-up famous people that Daryl loathed.

She was on a different level that Beth Greene. Daryl wasn't even sure if she was a real person.

How could one person be so generous?

"Are you staying here much longer?" Beth inquired, curiosity taking over her features as she drummed her fingers on the bar.

Only problem was, the light from the door opening lit up Beth's face in just the right way, blue eyes looking green around the pupil and blonde hair shimmering, that Daryl found himself scrambling to find the words to speak. "Uh, no. I don't think so." He looked towards the door, where he had meant to go almost an hour ago but never brought himself to actually get up and walk out. "Gonna head out soon."

Beth smiled and got down from the squeaky bar stool, picking up her guitar case. She took few steps around Daryl so she was on the opposite side of him, headed towards the door. She turned back around and put a hand on her hip. "You gonna walk me back or do I have to fend for myself in the streets of Atlanta?"

_Don't do it._

He hesitated. Maybe he should listen to that advice. Advice, though? More like demand…

"Sure," he decided with, not thinking too much about it until he had already agreed. "I'll walk ya back if you want."

He added that _if you want_ in there just to be one hundred fucking percent sure it, in fact, was what she wanted.

Beth tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as he waited, and nodded. "It's what I want."

He would walk her back only for safety reasons. Safety reasons, that was all. He couldn't let her walk back this late at night all by herself, not when a number of blocks over was not the nicest part of town.

That was his excuse. A damn good one too, but still, an _excuse._ He kind of just wanted to walk with her. And that was that.


	4. Chapter 4

They were on the street, had been for a minute or so. Beth was leading him the way to where her hotel was, a number of blocks towards the inner part of the city. There were some nighttime joggers out and about but they paid no attention to anything other than the road in front of them, head down and watching the pavement. Daryl relaxed then, realizing there was no reason to be tense. No one was even bothering to glance their way.

He glanced really quickly over at her, just to make sure that Beth was there, to make sure that she was there at all, and not some strange figment of his imagination. But she was there, and caught him looking over at her so she shyly smiled as she fell into step with him. They weren't intentionally trying to match each other, but that was how it ended up being, step by step, even though Beth had a shorter stride. She didn't notice that, but Daryl did. That was the kind of thing that he noticed.

Like the change in color of her hair from inside to out under the lamps on the street and the light from the moon.

Like how she subtly inched closer to him until she was walking right next to him.

Like how she continued to smile even when she had looked away from Daryl, looking down at the sidewalk that had gum pieces and wandering water bottles all around.

She still smiled. And he thought it was because of him.

"So," Beth started, taking a breath in of some fresh night air. "This feels nice, you know? Being out here on my own. I feel so normal again."

Daryl had never in his life felt normal, so it was hard for him to completely relate. But he did understand where she was coming from. "Haven't felt that way in a while, have ya?"

She shook her head, smile fading. "A long, _long _time." Another break of silence and Beth looked around at the stores, the ones that were still open, and also the other people that were out and about. She was very observant, and he liked that because he was the same way, but Daryl suspected another cause to her vigilance.

"Searching for someone?"

Beth looked over at him, being found guilty. "Just for any paparazzi that might be around. They've probably gotten a tip that I'm down this way by now, on their way with their big cameras with lenses that can spot me a mile away. Literally, a mile. That's not a joke." She touched his arm gently to apologize. "Sorry. I don't mean to be distracted. I get kind of paranoid sometimes."

When her hand dropped back to her side, that was when Daryl regained the ability to talk. No one really ever reached out for him like that. "Nothin' to be sorry for."

"I saw the photos," she blurted out. "The ones at the diner of us. I didn't mean for that to happen. The last thing I would want would be for you to feel like your space was invaded or—"

"Beth," he cut her off. It was nice to know that she was so concerned about him, something not too many people displayed towards Daryl. Actually, none at all. "Don't worry 'bout it."

He meant it and she realized that.

The subject got dropped and they moved onto other things.

"I'm taking a break for a little while now. Recording some stuff here while I see my family. I'll be working on my next album now that the majority of the concerts are done. But my family, we have a farm in the countryside. I'll be headed back there tomorrow." Beth came to a stop and looked both ways down the street before she grabbed Daryl's hand and said, "Come on, this way!" She guided them across saying something else but Daryl didn't hear what she had said. He was so focused on the feeling of her hands that held his own, staring at it as she held on tightly until they were safely across the street and next to a park.

Her hand lingered on his before she let go, and he noticed that too. Daryl picked up on every little thing that she did.

"You looked good up there tonight," he complimented her, out of the blue. He was embarrassed that he had been so careless with his words, not thinking them through before he said them to her. Had it been flirting that he was trying to do there? He couldn't tell, but either way, he had no right to be flirting with her. Daryl cleared his throat and continued to try and save himself. "You got a nice voice. Your songs, the lyrics got meaning to them."

Beth then threw him a glance and t he corners of her eyes squished together when she smiled, then dropped her gaze. "Thanks. I bet that was the first time you heard me sing."

"Not the first. You're on the radio a lot."

"Oh, yeah? Sing one of my songs then."

"Pfft." Daryl shook his head, but smiled too. He had been doing a lot of smiling ever since they had left the bar.

"You don't ever sing?" she pouted, clearly joking.

Daryl snorted at the thought. "Even if I did, you wouldn't wanna hear it."

Beth giggled, and it made Daryl feel oddly happy. "I bet you're one of those people who will listen to rock n' roll when others are around but actually prefer to listen to country music. You just don't want anyone to know that." She was right on the money with that statement. Daryl found it strange how well Beth could read him, even if she didn't know she was doing it. It was like she had opened up his brain and peeked inside to know who he was. "Keeping up appearances can be tough sometimes," she continued.

"Yeah," he agreed, knowing a lot about that, while turning his face to the side to look out at a few cars that went by.

Beth changed the subject again, probably because she had heard the tone of his voice in his previous agreement. "What do you do when you're not working or visiting the bar?" she asked. "Like for fun, I guess."

It was a question he was surprised by, but willing to answer, if he could figure out how to. Daryl scratched at his head, searching for an answer to her question about him. "Uh, well…I go hunting."

Less than impressive, but it was all that he could think of. Daryl didn't have this overly exciting life. In fact, he kept it fairly simple on purpose.

"Really?" Beth expressed, interested. "How long have you been doing that for?"

"A lot of years," he sighed, memories flooding back, some good ones, and some not so good ones. "I was young when I started. Went with my dad and brother."

"Older brother or younger brother?"

"Older."

Beth nodded. "Yeah me too. He's away at college right now, which is a good thing because he's annoying most of the time."

Daryl completely understood that. Merle was just about as annoying as they could get. "I hear you on that one," he commented off to the side as he glanced down an open alleyway. It was safer in the part of town they had crossed into, but Daryl wanted to be more aware now that he was walking with Beth next to him.

"Shawn is my half-brother, actually. And then there's my older half-sister, Maggie, who you saw searching for me back at the diner," she continued, the tone in her voice seemingly more favorable towards the sister than her brother. "She can also be annoying but she's the best most of the time. Maggie and me were always close."

"_Half_-siblings?" he questioned, even though it wasn't any of his business prying into her life, especially when his own family was so fucked up to begin with. He immediately backtracked once he realized his mistake. "Nevermind. You don't gotta answer that."

But Beth wasn't bothered by the question at all and Daryl came to realize that it was just himself placing his own issues onto the question.

"No, it's fine! Maggie's mom and my dad were married and had Maggie, but then she died and my dad married my mom, Annette. My mom already had Shawn but his dad isn't in the picture, and so my dad and mom got married and then they had me. It's a little complicated but we finally got to a place where everything works. For a while things were a bit rocky in the house."

He understood that too, just on a different level. A more violent level that he was not about to expose Beth to. She didn't need to know about what happened in the Dixon household. No one did, really. That shit should stay locked up where it belonged.

"So, why do you like the woods so much?" she asked, and distracted him from his childhood, thankfully.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Quiet. Away from people. It's peaceful." Daryl often found a way of making himself sound like such a reclusive person. "Keeps me focused out there."

"An escape?"

"Yeah. Exactly."

"That makes sense. I get it."

That was all she said, all she needed to. There was somehow this unspoken understanding between the two of them, even though they were from completely different backgrounds. Different words, even.

Daryl deeply exhaled because he had known this girl for barely anytime at all, yet he had never felt so calm and open around anyone in his life before. He wasn't on guard as much, feeling almost _safe_. An unfamiliar feeling, it was, and still, Daryl proceeded into uncharted territory with her all because of how he felt. Normally, he would listen to his head, but she had him thinking with the thing that was caged up inside of his chest instead.

And that was a weird fucking feeling right there.

They chatted some more, well, mostly Beth talked, skipping over the superficial things like weather it seemed like, and diving head first into other areas of life like relationships and the stresses of work, how Beth sometimes felt like she was suffocating in a crowd of people snapping her photo. She revealed a lot to him on their walk, and Daryl was in awe that she felt so comfortable around him, a complete strange, to revel these inner feelings to him.

When Beth came to a halt, Daryl did also, only to realize that they were outside of her downtown hotel. "Well, this is me," she sullenly told him, as if she were sad to have to leave him and their conversation.

"I guess so," he breathed out, looking at the hotel like it was his worst enemy.

Funny thing happened though. He expected her to go inside right away, say her goodbye and go back to her life. But she didn't. Beth took a step towards the hotel but then stopped and turned around to face Daryl.

She lingered.

"I had a really nice time talking to you."

He gave a short nod. "I never talk much," he admitted honestly. "Not somethin' I'm used to."

"You seemed fine to me. And you _listen,_ that's the best part. Not a fake, distracted kind of listening either. You actually listened to me and all my nonsense about complaining about life in the spotlight. So, thanks. I really appreciate that, more than you know. I could tell you were listening to every word."

It was the truth, he had been listening to every word, every switch in her tone of voice, every time she drew in a breath before speaking because she was about to say something new. "Everybody needs someone to listen to them," Daryl replied.

"And what about you?" Beth asked, cocking her head to the side as the wind blew past and made her dark eyelashes flutter. "Who listens to you?"

He finally understood the saying of being a deer caught in the headlights. There wasn't an answer that he could give her because there wasn't anyone to mention.

She took half a step closer, keeping her eyes trained on him like nothing else was in sight. "Maybe I can be the one who gets to listen to you," she whispered to Daryl, hair blowing in the breeze, capturing her in the perfect light of the street lamp not too far from them.

The implications were clear to him.

Beth was waiting for him to make a move, and it scared him, but also excited him in a way like he had never experienced. Beth made him feel opposites at the same time, which had never happened to Daryl. Things would be black or white to him, never both, never at the same time, and never among the gray area. But that was where he was—the gray area.

And that was where things got blurry.

"Beth," he said her name, but was halted by her motion forward as she grabbed onto his shoulder and his shirt with her hand and placed her lips onto his so fast that he didn't process what occurred until her soft lips moved against his and he tasted the cherry lip gloss she had on. Admittedly, after standing there for a brief second afraid to do anything, he melted into it like he was some kind of schoolgirl who was kissing the most popular guy in class.

She was warm, that was the first thing that he thought of. The way she wasn't afraid to step closer and push her body slightly against his for a better angle since she was smaller than him. And of course he kissed her back, he would be an idiot not to. Or maybe he was an idiot because he did. But none of that mattered in that moment. Daryl couldn't be bothered to use any brain capacity to think of anything other than how Beth's lips felt on his.

When she pulled away a few moments later, Daryl wasn't sure if it had really happened or if his mind was playing tricks on him. But Beth's lips parted and her bright teeth appeared at him when she grinned widely, and whispered, "Goodnight, Daryl." She was halfway towards the hotel when she turned around and yelled, "My number is in your coat pocket!"

He watched as she disappeared into the hotel, her long legs swiftly taking her inside the five star rated building painted a steel color, with large balconies and vines growing up the side. He stood, in what he perceived as shock, for some time, how long, he wasn't sure exactly. But he did reach into his pocket and felt the fine paper that was folded up neatly in there, just as Beth had said it was. She must have slipped in it during the kiss.

Daryl's head was racing. The night had ended in a rather unexpected way, but he couldn't help but feel like maybe he should have seen it coming. But that was him, never could pick up on a single hint thrown his way. He was oblivious in that manner.

Only when he saw a black car pull up down the street and a man get out with a camera hung around his neck did Daryl quickly turn his back and start walking down the street, escaping into the park area to walk back to his apartment, which he then realized was on the other side of town. But that was alright with him. He needed the time to think about what all had just happened, hand still clutching onto the paper inside his coat because there was no way he was going to let that go.


End file.
